The car hit pedestrians - some of whom have been seriously injured - outside a busy train station at around 5pm local time.
As many as 19 people have been injured after a car deliberately drove into a crowd in central Melbourne, police have said.

Several of those hurt have been critically injured. The area is now in lock-down and police have warned people to stay away.
Pictures from the scene show a white Suzuki SUV crashed into a bollard at a cable car stop.

Aerial footage shows injured people being treated by paramedics on the street of the large intersection.
Footage shot on a mobile phone at the scene shows the driver being wrestled to the ground and handcuffed.

Victoria state police say they have arrested the driver of the vehicle after it "collided with a number of pedestrians" in the city centre.
A second man has also been arrested.

Police say 14 people have been taken to hospital, a number of whom are in a critical condition.
One young child who has a head injury is said to be in a serious condition, Sky News Australia has reported.

Other people were treated at the scene for a range of different injuries. At the time of the crash, the area was packed with Christmas shoppers.
Witnesses told Sky News the car ran through a red traffic light in a 25mph (40km) speed limit zone.

A witness told radio station 3AW that she heard screams and saw "people flying everywhere".

"We could hear this noise, as we looked left, we saw this white car, it just mowed everybody down," she said.

"We heard thump, thump, thump. People are running everywhere."
Another witness said "hundreds of people" were told to get off trams near the area following the crash.

One man said when he arrived on the scene he heard what he "thought were shots" and that there "were a number of people down".

It is not known whether the incident is terror-related.

Reports differ as to the speed at which the car was travelling, with some describing it as not travelling at speed, while anothers say it was travelling at around 60mph.

One witness told ABC TV, "There was no braking, there was no slowing down. Whether it was targeted or whether he had a heart attack, or was drunk, I don't know."

Another witness told ABC Radio Melbourne he saw a "SUV coming at high speed. (I) really just heard the collision with people with bags and what must be shopping trolleys - and I hope not prams," he said.

The area has now been closed off to the public, and has been designated as a crime scene while investigations take place.
Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull tweeted: "As our federal & state police & security agencies work together to secure the scene and investigate this shocking incident our thoughts & prayers are with the victims & the emergency & health workers who are treating them."

British High Commissioner to Australia Menna Rawlings tweeted following reports of the incident, saying her "Thoughts are with all affected".

The trolls funding a shamed coppers right to lie about Kate and Gerry McCann are a new level of weirdo.[omitted] they may have destroyed all hope for good.Talking up conspiracy theories is one thing.Wrecking the search for an abducted child is another.-The Sun

Driver is a 32 year old Afghan-Australian with drug and mental health issues who was "known to police." Motivation still unknown, but does not seem to be terrorism related, but police say it appears to have been a "deliberate action."

This is the second time in the last few months that a vehicle has been used to mow down pedestrians in Melbourne. Horrible act. The driver in the first incident is still in remand and committed to stand trial next year.

[T]hose children were left alone and because of that fact one of them disappeared. (Fatima de Oliveira Esteves)